JONESBORO - The state is proposing an $800 a day fine for a Jonesboro nursing home after a state inspector confirmed a 93-year-old woman's ear was infested with maggots. <br>
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The state Office of Regulatory Services initially decided that there would be no fine because the inspector found no underlying failures by the home, said David Dunbar, who directs nursing home inspections for the agency. <br>
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That decision was reversed after a state ombudsman insisted the home was at fault for failing to control flies. Maggots are the worm-like larvae that emerge from flies' eggs. <br>
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A nurse at Beverly Healthcare of Jonesboro found the maggots in the bedridden patient's ear canal and outer ear Sept. 15, according to state records. The following day, nurses again found maggots in the resident's ear and on her bed sheets. <br>
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A state inspector visited the Clayton County nursing home more than three weeks later and confirmed the incidents. <br>
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In a written statement, Beverly Enterprises said the facility identified and acted on the fly problem before state inspectors arrived. Beverly also replaced the home's administrator and its director of nurses. <br>
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A spokeswoman for Beverly, one of the largest nursing home chains in the nation, said the center also checked other residents and found no other infestation.
